Craig Shelburne: 100 Years of the Opry | MCP #316

Craig Shelburne is a Nashville-based music journalist, author, and festival producer. He grew up in rural Nebraska, moved to Nashville in 1994, and spent 13 years at CMT where he launched the influential roots music blog CMT Edge. He's written for Rolling Stone, the Bluegrass Situation, MusicRow, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and many other outlets. Craig currently serves as festival producer for AmericanaFest, programming the nighttime showcases for the Americana Music Association. His first book, 100 Years of Grand Ole Opry: A Celebration of the Artists, the Fans, and the Home of Country Music, was published in April 2025. His next book, Killin' Time: My Life and Music—a memoir co-written with Clint Black—arrives May 19, 2026.In This Episode:Writing 100 years of Opry history in 18 months with historian Brenda ColladayThe decision to tell the real story—setbacks, bad calls, and allDiscovering the complete audio of James Brown's 1979 Opry performanceGrowing up on TNN in Nebraska and moving to Nashville at 1913 years at CMT and the launch of CMT EdgeThe art of the seven-minute interview: asking questions artists actually want to answerProgramming AmericanaFest: 1,500 submissions, 200 slots, and the philosophy of fitWriting Clint Black's memoir on the tour busWhy no two Opry shows have ever been the sameLinks100 Years of Grand Ole OpryAmericana Music AssociationThe Bluegrass Situation Get full access to Morse Code with Korby Lenker at korby.substack.com/subscribe